Don’t edit while you’re creating drafts, I tell students. But what if you just can’t stop editing?
Writing Tip for Today: Let’s discuss self-editing and drafting and separating them.
Draft in a White-hot Heat
Seasoned writers understand that if you keep self-editing while your draft develops, doing so may stall your progress. Many of my students over the years have had first chapters or an unfinished draft. They don’t stop self-editing before their story is drafted in full. These writers are convinced they can’t move to the next part or finish the draft until each drafted piece is perfect.
Perfection turns out to be an illusion. A good story may remain unfinished long after the first draft might have been completed. And it’s all due to the writer who can’t or won’t stop fiddling with a particular chapter or part.
As you practice your writing skill, allow yourself to write “s****y first drafts, as Anne Lamott advises. Once your story has been fleshed out from beginning to end, you go back to the beginning to refine, fill plot holes and tighten the prose.
Repent (Revise) at Leisure
Some writers mistakenly believe that polishing each piece before drafting the next will save time and editing energy. New writers, especially can feel insecure about their editing skills, and it adds to the hesitancy to edit a complete draft.
But revisions are more than smoothing out sentences or correcting grammar mistakes. You are likely not the same writer as when you started a novel or any book-length project. When you read a draft in its entirety, you will likely see this demonstrated. Sometimes the tone shifts, you spot character inconsistencies or you see places where the tension slacks.
I think it’s easier to see the forest for the trees if you write your entire story before editing. Sure, go ahead and clean up drafts you intend to get feedback from your critique group. Yet objectivity from others will help you best if they see the whole draft in the same way readers will.
Some writers mistakenly believe that polishing each piece before drafting the next will save time and editing energy.
Drafts are Dashes, Revisions are Marathons
When I’m drafting a new novel or nonfiction book, I need my most creative and original self to jump in with both feet and get it down. If I try to police myself with self-doubts or early self-editing, I usually find that the two operations compete. My creative self wants to experiment and write quickly.
My editing self wants to slow down and ponder every word. Revisions are in it for the long haul, often requiring many rewrites of the same passage. This is one reason I keep multiple projects going much of the time. If my creative brain protests enough about the rewriting, I can switch over to a drafting project. After a bit, I can go back to self-editing, which requires much more precision and careful thought.
If you’re one of those writers who says you absolutely cannot stop editing as you draft, I guess you’ll do it your way. And that’s fine as long as you finish your draft in a reasonable amount of time. But if you have unfinished work hanging out in a drawer, ask yourself if just for a change, you might dash through a draft before you pick up the red editing pen.
